An intriguing series of short, dialogue-free screenplays, has now gone online. Annalium is the work of Cardiff-based writer (and my pal) Robert Lancey, who has created a website to showcase the screenplays and their potential to be realised on screen. Each opens with a flight over a forest, and then a descent through the treetops … Continue reading
I was delighted to discover recently that two great West Country actors went to my old school. Robert Newton, who played the archetypal Long John Silver (and arguably originated the ‘pirate accent’) and George Woodbridge, the classic Hammer horror innkeeper and comedy policeman, were both students of Exeter School in Devon. Newton, born in Dorset … Continue reading
You don’t hear many conventional love songs from Essex retro rock band The 1957 Tail Fin Fiasco – so the new single Monogamy Pews is predictably not a celebration of romantic marriage. In fact, this track from their latest album The Harvard Tango tells the story of Glynn Wolfe, also known as Scotty Wolfe, a … Continue reading
There are many benefits from knowing creative people, but perhaps the most surprising is that you might end up appearing in their work. Last year (2019), my brilliant crime-writer friend Cara Hunter named a character after me in her latest novel. And now, my near-namesake DJ Weltch has put me in an R&B video! It’s … Continue reading
The summer of 2020 – in the middle of a global pandemic – may not have seemed the ideal time to launch a publishing house specialising in literature and fine art. But The Top Publishing Company is no ordinary publishing house. A family venture, formed in the US by brothers Alexander Xavier Free Garland and … Continue reading
The superb video for the latest song by talented New Jersey R&B artist Jo Rivers was launched (or ‘dropped‘ as the cool kids say) this week [September 15, 2020] – reflecting a late summer vibe and all the potential that a new relationship offers. The video for Create A Vibe was made by my namesake … Continue reading
A boring and bored man, unhappily married and hating his job, unexpectedly encounters a beautiful woman. He’s captivated, and she leads him on an exciting adventure. It’s a familiar male fantasy, which has formed the basis for some memorable films – Edward G Robinson and Joan Bennett in Fritz Lang’s Scarlet Street (1945) and Gene … Continue reading
Dragons are perhaps the most feared, and almost certainly the most spectacular, of mythical creatures. So it’s no surprise they’ve often featured in movies. Recent incarnations include the awe-inspiring dragons in TV’s Game of Thrones and cinema’s Hobbit films, and Starburst listed 10 of the best in this 2019 feature. Impressive as those blockbusters are, … Continue reading
It’s claimed that in 2019, 80% of Americans were living from one pay cheque to the next. A year on [I write this during the 2020 coronavirus crisis], the pandemic has caused economic devastation, with more than 40 million filing for unemployment. Many who were relying on the next pay cheque to pay the rent, … Continue reading
A new survey of writers suggests there could be a flurry of books arising from the coronavirus lockdown. Page Turner Awards, who conducted the research via their website and mailing list, say it shows writers have been more resilient, so we can expect a boom in the printed (or digital) word – in contrast with … Continue reading
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